This year is a big year at the Disneyland Resort as Disneyland marks 70 years since it opened its gates to guests on July 17, 1955. To commemorate the occasion, Disneyland will be kicking off their big 70th celebration on May 16, 2025 and the celebration will run through summer of 2026. There are lots of fun entertainment options, changes coming to attractions, characters in new outfits, special merchandise, and more. So let’s get into everything you can expect from Disneyland’s 70th celebration!
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First things first, you need to book your trip to experience this celebration, and the best way to visit the parks for the best price possible is to book your trip with my travel partner Get Away Today. They have the lowest prices on Disney tickets that are also refundable, plus amazing deals on Anaheim area hotels like extra nights free and reduced rates, as well as having a Peace of Mind plan that allows you to make any necessary changes to your trip without paying any penalties, giving you ultimate flexibility when planning your next Disney vacation as well as having a Layaway Plan option where you pay $200 down and make payments toward your trip as you can. You can get started with booking your next Disney trip here!
To make it even better, as part of the 70th Celebration, Disneyland is offering an awesome ticket deal, but you can get those tickets for even cheaper when you book with Get Away Today! You can get 4 day Disneyland tickets for as low as $94 per day on one park per day tickets! You can also upgrade those tickets to park hopper tickets and/or add on lightning lane multipass. They are also doing a deal on 3 day tickets as well, for as low as $113 per day for single park per day tickets. These tickets are valid for travel for May 16-August 14, 2025 and do NOT have to be used consecutively, they just have to be used in full by August 14. Click here to take advantage of this deal! But hurry! You only have until March 24, 2025 to get these savings!
Now that we’ve covered how to experience this celebration for less, here’s what you can expect:
Characters
Mickey and friends are getting makeovers to match the 70th with all new colorful looks! You can find Mickey and friends in their new looks at Town Square at the end of Main Street USA in Disneyland, so stop by to meet them and grab a picture!
Entertainment
Paint the Night Parade
In my opinion, this is the best entertainment option that Disneyland has ever had. The Paint the Night Parade was introduced 10 years ago for Disneyland’s Diamond celebration, and is coming back for the 70th this year. This parade is like a more modern take on the Main Street Electrical Parade. This nighttime parade has more than 1 million LED lights, beautiful colors and floats, special effects, stunning characters and costumes, and the catchiest song! This parade includes characters from Peter Pan, Frozen, Toy Story, Cars, Monsters Inc., Beauty and the Beast as well as other princess like Rapunzel and Cinderella, characters from Finding Nemo as well as Tigger, the Genie, and of course Mickey and some of his friends. This parade will likely have two performances each night along the normal parade route in Disneyland and trust me, you will NOT want to miss this one.
Wondrous Journeys
Another fan favorite nighttime spectacular is returning to Disneyland. The Wondrous Journeys fireworks and projections was brought to the park back in 2023 for the 100th celebration of the Walt Disney Company. This show reflects 100 years of animation from the Walt Disney company with so many amazing stories over the years including Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Moana, Frozen, Tangled, Hercules, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Big Hero 6, Up!, Encanto, and more! This show is beautiful, and easily one of my favorite firework shows so make sure you take one night of your trip to see this one. You can view this show on Main Steet USA, at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, on the facade of “it’s a small world”, and along the Rivers of America. Projections will happen nightly, and fireworks will happen on select dates like weekends or daily during the summer. Check the Disneyland app to see if fireworks are happening that night.
Tapestry of Happiness
This is a new entertainment option coming to Disneyland specifically for the 70th. This show will bring to life the facade of “it’s a small world” with an animated mosaic of Disneyland attractions, moments and memories portrayed in the art style of the iconic Mary Blair. It will feature a new song that will have nods to other popular Disneyland songs over the last few decades. No word yet on how often this will be happening, but we should be getting more information about the entertainment schedule as the celebration gets closer.
Celebrate Happy Cavalcade
A new cavalcade is coming to the Happiest Place on Earth for the 70th and will feature Mickey and friends, as well as new characters that have never been seen at Disneyland, including characters from Duffy and friends! This fun little cavalcade will celebrate decades of happiness in the park and will feature fun and upbeat music, and will only be a few minutes, not a full on parade. These will typically happen a few times a day, so check the Disneyland schedule for that days specific show times.
World of Color Happiness!
Inspired by Walt Disney’s opening day speech at Disneyland, this new World of Color show will feature Joy and the other emotions as they take you through a performance with moments and music from various Disney and Pixar movies including The Incredibles, Turning Red, Tangled, Encanto, a Goofy Movie, and more. This show will also feature new music from Boys II Men and FITZ from Fitz and the Tantrums. There will also be a new preshow ahead of the performance with some of the beloved characters from the Muppets
Better Together: A Pixar Pals Celebration! Parade
Returning to California Adventure is the Better Together parade that debuted during Pixar Fest in 2024. This parade features floats and characters from several beloved Pixar movies including Luca, Up, Turning Red, and more. This parade will likely happen twice a day running along the route from the Paradise Gardens park up past Carthay Circle and into Hollywood Land, check the Disneyland app for that days showtimes.
Celebrate Happy at Carthay Circle
Much like with “it’s a small world” in Disneyland, the facade of Carthay Circle will be brought to life with music, projections, and lights every night. This will be a quick little show, likely only a few minutes, but will be a fun thing to see as you pass by. Check the Disneyland app for that days showtimes.
Attractions
“it’s a small world”
A few changes are coming to “it’s a small world”, the first one is that Miguel and Dante from Coco are being added into the attraction. They will be there when the attraction reopens on April 25. Then, on July 17 the third verse of “it’s a small world”, written a few years ago by Richard Sherman, will debut for the first time as it is added to the soundtrack for the attraction.
Walt Disney- A Magical Life
When you enter the Main Street Opera House, they will have an amazing display honoring Walt Disney and his vision for Disneyland. There will be images, artifacts, and art that show his process of dreaming up and creating Disneyland. Over 30 items have been selected to be displayed from the Walt Disney Family Museum for guests to enjoy during the celebration, including items from Walt’s apartment located above the fire station on Main Street. Along with these amazing displays, you will also be able to learn about the advancements of audio animatronics in the parks.
Along with these displays, you will also be able to experience Walt Disney-A Magical Life which will debut on July 17. This show will go through the story of Walt’s life through remastered footage and audio recordings, as well as using an audio-animatronic of Walt himself as he shares stories and wisdom. At the end of the show, as guests enter into the lobby they will be able to see how Disneyland is moving forward in the years to come.
A Tribute to the Sherman Brothers
When you visit the Main Street Cinema, you will be able to watch a three minute video about the Sherman Brothers called “The Last Verse” which is a celebration of their iconic song they wrote for “it’s a small world.” This video will show the importance of the Sherman Brothers and their amazing contribution to Disneyland.
Toy Story Midway Mania
Midway Mania will also get a little 70th makeover as you play the game, keep an eye out for some of the nods to the 70th celebration as you compete with your friends and family.
Anniversary Decor
All throughout the resort, there will be new 70th anniversary decor for the celebration. Sleeping Beauty’s Castle will receive a beautiful makeover with tapestries and a gold medallion for the70th, the esplanade between the entrances to Disneyland and California Adventure will have a beautiful Sleeping Beauty Castle statue with a tribute to the five original lands in Disneyland, the flower Mickey in front of the train station will have banners and buntings to match the theme, and a new display with Mickey and Minnie at Town Square at the end of Main Street USA.
Carthay Circle in California Adventure will also be decked out for the celebration, and you’ll also be find decor items throughout Downtown Disney and at the Disney Resort hotels.
70th Merchandise
Of course there will be lots of merch to commemorate the 70th anniversary, from apparel items and ears, to home decor items, plush toys, and accessories, there will be lots of items to choose from. More information will be released soon about what merch will be available, but here is a peak that they released about merch coming to the parks.
Now that you know everything you can expect from the 70th anniversary celebration at the Disneyland Resort, all that’s left is to book your visit to the Happiest Place on Earth! Click here to save on your trip or take advantage of their 70th anniversary celebration tickets here!
